New Life
by Elphaba Thropp of Oz
Summary: Barnum's Next Love series, book 3.
1. Chapter 1

Eight months. Eight months since Lettie found out she was pregnant. Also, seven months since everyone else found out.

Lettie was taking a break from the show (after all, no one said it was comfortable to perform while you're pregnant). Now, their child was due any day now. The day before, P.T. had temporarily put Phillip in charge so he could stay with Lettie. Then suddenly, Lettie gasped. "P.T., my water just broke."

Four hours later, P.T. was allowed to enter the hospital room. The last time he had been this stressed was when Charity was having Helen. As soon as he was allowed in, he rushed inside. Lettie was sitting in the bed, holding their child. She looked up as P.T. entered the room. "Its a girl." she said quietly. P.T. smiled at his new daughter. "What will we name her?" he asked. "I have the perfect name." Lettie responded. "Virginia Barnum, future circus star."

 **Short but sweet, right?**


	2. Chapter 2

It was November, a month after Virginia was born. Lettie was still on a break from performing, by P.T.'s request. Everyone thought the world was perfect. Helen loved her new little sister, and the amount of protesters had gone down. Until the sickness. The first person to start showing signs was Anne. She was getting ready to go onstage for a performance, when the world starting spinning, and she had to sit down. Phillip came running over. "Anne! Are you alright?" he asked. Anne nodded, but then, a few seconds later, she completely passed out. "ANNE!" Phillip screamed. He caught her before she hit the ground. "Someone, call a doctor!" he cried. Helen was terrified. She ran over to Lettie and clung to her. "Is she going to be ok?" she asked her. Lettie looked down at Helen. "Yes, she's going to be fine Helen." but Lettie didn't know who she was convincing, Helen or herself.

The doctors decided that Anne had polio, which was very dangerous if not treated in time. The doctor put her in isolation, and not even Phillip could see her. Two weeks later though, the doctor had news. "How is she?" Phillip asked. The doctor took a deep breath. "She's fully recovered but..." he trailed off. "She...she's paralyzed in her left leg." Lettie let out a small cry and put her hand over her mouth. "Is it permanent?" P.T. asked. The doctor nodded. "I'm afraid she won't be able to do trapeze anymore. You can come see her, though." Phillip jumped up. "Come on." he said to the others. They stood up, but the doctor put up his hand. "I'm afraid the children won't be allowed in." he gestured to Helen and Virginia. P.T. walked over to Lettie, who was holding Virginia. "I'll watch them while you go see Anne." he said. He took Virginia. "Thank you." Lettie said and kissed his cheek. Then she, Phillip, and W.D. walked into the room where Anne was.


	3. Chapter 3

When they entered the room, they saw Anne sitting up, her face hid in her hands. "Anne, are you ok?" Phillip asked. Anne looked up. Her face was stained with tears. "Phillip..." her voice trailed off. "They said...they said that i won't be able to do trapeze anymore." She started crying again. "Oh, Anne. You can't let it get to you." Lettie said. Anne turned on her. "How can i do that? Trapeze is my joy, my life. And now i have to give it up forever. I'm worthless to the circus now. I might as well just leave." Lettie shook her head. "That's not true. You'll always have a place here. Even if you can't do trapeze, that doesn't change the fact that you're our family. The circus would never be the same if you left." Lettie found that now she was the one getting emotional. "We would lose a member of our family, and you'd lose your entire family. You'd lose W.D., Phillip, P.T., Helen, everyone." Anne looked at her. "Do you really feel that way?" Lettie smiled. "We all do." she pulled Anne into a hug.

A month later, Anne was out of the hospital and back at the circus. She was stuck in a wheelchair, but she was happy that she could move. Sometimes they found her longingly staring at the trapeze gear. Another thing that was progressing, even though no one thought it could anymore, was the love between P.T. and Lettie. They were almost never seen apart. One day, P.T. asked Phillip for a favor. "What do you need my help with?" he asked. P.T. reached into his pocket and pulled out a small box. He opened it, and inside was a ring. Phillip gasped. "You're finally gonna propose to her? The whole circus had been waiting!" P.T. nodded. "Yes, I'm going to propose, but i need your help figuring out the right time." Phillip thought for a minute. Then he smiled. "I know! You can do it at the party celebrating the circus's fifth anniversary!" P.T. got excited. "That's perfect!" he put the ring into his pocket. Then they heard someone approaching. "What are you two doing back there? We have a show in an hour." they looked up, and Lettie turned the corner. "Umm...we were just...talking." P.T. stammered. Lettie gave him her guilt inducing look. "I always have to keep you focused, don't i?" she stepped closer to him. "Did you know that you've stolen something important?" she looked deeply into P.T.'s eyes. "And what is that?" he asked. Lettie smiled. "You've stolen my heart, ringmaster." she leaned in even closer and kissed him.


	4. Chapter 4

"Can i have everyone's attention?" Everyone had been celebrating when P.T. called for attention. Phillip smiled, he knew what was coming. Anne and Lettie looked at him strangely. He avoided looking at them. "I have an important announcement to make." P.T. continued. He stepped toward Lettie. "This might sound ridiculous, but since the day i met you, i knew there was a connection between us. Back then it was different, like brother and sister, but now..." he trailed off, not sure how to finish. "I love you, Lettie, and i will never stop loving you." as he spoke, he pulled out the box. Lettie gasped and covered her mouth upon seeing it. "Oh my god..." she whispered. "Will you stand by me forever as my wife?" he opened the box, reveling the ring. Lettie could barely speak. "Of course i will P.T.!" she said, wrapping her arms around him. Everyone began clapping. P.T. leaned back slightly and pressed his lips against hers. Four weeks later, it was time.


	5. Chapter 5

_"You thought you'd be able to stay happy forever, didn't you?" Charity asked as she wickedly smiled at P.T. He glared back. "You can't do anything to me." Charity laughed. I may not be able to do anything to you physically, but i can leave you with the knowledge that you weren't able to save the woman you love." P.T. gasped, and his whole body filled with rage. "YOU WON'T TOUCH HER!" he screamed. He ran at Charity, but she stretched out her hand and a bolt of lightning hit him, knocking him back. "Charity...how..." Charity grinned. "Its a little something I'd like to call magic." P.T. couldn't summon the strength to react. Then a voice started shouting. "P.T.! P.T., you have to wake up!" All of the sudden,_ he shot up. He looked around. He was in his room. Lettie was sitting next to him. He realized he was shaking. Lettie wrapped her arms around him. "You're ok. It's ok my dear, I've got you." she whispered to him soothingly. It was a while before Lettie pulled back and stared into his eyes. "Are you alright?" she asked him. P.T. nodded. "It was my dream." he said. "Charity had magic, and she was threatening you, and there was nothing i could do." he began crying. Lettie pulled him into another hug. When he had calmed down a little, she leaned back slightly. She placed her hands around P.T.'s face and pressed their foreheads together. They closed their eyes. "You're alright, i promise." she whispered before parting from him. They laid down facing each other. P.T. just laid there, staring AsT the ceiling. He couldn't fall back asleep. He turned to look at Lettie. She was asleep. He gazed at his soon to be wife, until exhaustion overcame him. He placed a hand on Lettie's cheek and whispered "Goodnight beautiful." before he closed his eyes.


	6. Chapter 6

The wedding was starting any minute now, and everyone was busy getting ready. They didn't invite the public, for obvious reasons. But the church they decided to have it at was pretty crowded with all of the oddities. Anne and Lettie were getting ready in one of the dressing rooms. Lettie had been nervous all day, but she was more nervous now then ever. Anne was trying to calm her down. "Lettie, you are going to do fine, there's nothing to be nervous about." she said as Lettie finished changing behind a curtain. "I know that." Lettie responded. "Its just...its just...i don't know why." she stepped out from behind the curtain and Anne gasped. "Oh my god." Anne whispered. "Lettie, you look...amazing." Even amazing was an understatement. "Thanks." Lettie said shyly. "Let's get this started." they headed toward the main room. And have her a thumbs up before heading to her place. She heard the announcer say "Everyone please stand for the bride." and her stomach did a flip. But she stepped through the door and walked toward P.T. He was entranced. Once she reached him, He took her hands in his own. They simply stared into each other's eyes as the speech continued. Then, it was time for the rings. And finally the announcer said "You may kiss the-" he was cut off as they locked lips even before he was finished. When they parted, P.T. saw that Lettie had started crying. "I never thought i would be here in a million years, but it's happened. And I've never been more grateful for anything in my life." P.T. wrapped his arms around her. They were together, and no matter what happened next, they would remain together, exactly how they were meant to be.

 **This was the last chapter, but stay tuned for the epilogue.**


	7. Epilogue

**10 years later...**

Things were perfect. Virginia had turned 10, and Helen was 20. One day, they were heading to the circus when someone handed P.T. a flier. It read "Come see the best ballet company in America perform Swan Lake, starring Caroline Hallet. Get your tickets now!" P.T. was in shock. "Lettie, what do you make of this?" He asked her and showed her the flyer. "I think it means that Caroline is here in New York." she said. "And I'm afraid it also means..." she took a deep breath. "Charity is here with her." P.T. sighed. "I'm afraid we can't go to see her performance if Charity's there." Helen had been walking ahead with Virginia when she looked back and saw her parents worried faces. She walked back. "What's up, Dad?" she asked P.T. "It's nothing." he said. Helen gave P.T. an _i know something's up_ look and went to join Virginia.

Everyone struck their final poses as the audience went wild. As they were exiting, a young women approached P.T. and Lettie. "Mr. Barnum?" she asked. He turned around. "You may not recognize me, but...I'm your daughter, Caroline." P.T. gasped. "Caroline?" he said delightfully. "Caroline!" he wrapped his arms around her. Then he stepped back and looked around. "Where's your mother?" he asked. Caroline looked at the ground. "I'm afraid Charity passed last month of influenza." Lettie gasped. "I'm sorry to hear that." P.T. said. "It's fine." she said. Suddenly she gasped. "I just remembered! I have to go!" she hugged her father. "Bye dad." she said before running out the door.


	8. The Conclusion

I know i said this was complete, but i have to add this. Writing this trio has been super fun, and your continued support is empowering when it comes to writing. I'm very sad to conclude this series, but i must. I would like to thank you all for embarking on this writing journey with me.

\- _Lettie_


End file.
